Natalia Romanova (Earth-616)
Real Name: Natalia Alianovna Romanova (Shostakova) ("Natasha" is the informal version of the name "Natalia," and is used by her close associates. Sometimes she has chosen to Anglicize her last name as "Romanoff." She has dropped her married name of "Shostakova.") Nicknames: Natasha, Tasha Former Aliases: Madame Natasha, Nancy Rushman, Laura Matthers Other Current Aliases: None known Status Occupation: Adventurer, intelligence agent, former ballerina Legal Status: Former citizen of the USSR, defected to the United States. Criminal record in the United States, granted amnesty through S.H.I.E.L.D. Living in the US with an extended visa. Identity: Secret Marital Status: Divorced (presumed) Group Affiliation: S.H.I.E.L.D.; formerly Avengers, Champions of Los Angeles, Lady Liberators, KGB, "Marvel Knights", partner of Daredevil, Hawkeye, Boris Turgenov Base of Operations: Mobile, maintains a home in New York City, New York; formerly San Francisco, California Origin Natasha Romanoff is a expertly trained intelligence agent. Place of Birth: Volgograd (Stalingrad), Russia (former USSR) Known Relatives: Alexi Shostakov, (aka Red Guardian, husband, divorced) First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #52 History Natalia Romanova, known to most as Natasha Romanoff, is rumored to be a relative of the Romanoffs, the last ruling czars if Russia, but nothing else is known of her family. During World War II, a Nazi assault upon Stalingrad set the building she was in on fire. A woman, possibly her mother, threw her into the arms of a Russian soldier named Ivan Petrovitch before being consumed by the flames. Ivan watched over her as she grew to adulthood and today works as her chauffeur. Ivan brought Natasha under his protection and soon had to defend her from her many enemies. In 1941, Natasha was abducted by the Nazi Baron Von Strucker, who took her to Madripoor and presented her to the Hand to become their master assassin. She was saved from Von Strucker and the Hand by Ivan, the American super hero Captain America, and the Canadian adventurer Logan. Romanoff proved to be a brilliant scholar and athlete as she matured, and gained fame in the Soviet Union as a ballerina. Romanoff married renowned Soviet test pilot Alexi Shostakov, but the couple's happiness was short-lived. It was decided by the KGB, the department of the Soviet government which served as the intelligence agency and secret police, that the Shostakovs would make good special operatives. While Alexi Shostakovs was away on a mission, he was informed of the state's new plans for him, and told that from then on he could have no contact with past friends and acquaintances, including even his own wife. Shostakov was then trained to become the Red Guardian, a costumed agent who was intended to act as the Soviet Union's counterpart to Captain America. Meanwhile, a Soviet officer told Natalia Shostakova that her husband had died in the explosion of an experimental rocket he was testing. Distraught, Natalia Shostakova said that she wanted to do something to be worthy of the memory of her heroic husband. The KGB had anticipated her reaction, and was instructed in the infamous Red Room Academy and under their training, she became their most skilled operative, a superb fighter and information gatherer. The KGB gave her the name of “Black Widow” and quickly sent her into the field. When Logan resurfaced in America, now bereft of his memory, Natasha set out as the Black Widow to save him from a team of Hydra assassins. She soon encountered Logan again when he, Ben Grimm and Carol Danvers stole the Red Storm Project from Russia. Natasha pursued them but was ordered off by her superiors. In the early days of her career, the Black Widow did not act as a costumed agent. Her first major field assignment was to infiltrate Stark Industries in the United States and to assist her partner Boris Turgenov in the assassination of the defector Professor Anton Vanko. The Black Widow was thwarted repeatedly by the original Iron Man in her various schemes against Stark Industries. The Black Widow used Hawkeye, who was then sought as a criminal and was himself attracted to her, as an ally in some of her subversive activities. The Black Widow was given her first costume for her fourth mission to the United States. However, her growing love for Hawkeye led to a weakening of her resolve to continue her missions for the Soviets. Hawkeye refused to act as a criminal any longer, and successfully sought amnesty along with membership in the Avengers. The Black Widow fell into the hands of the intelligence agents of the People's Republic of China, who brainwashed her into serving them. They directed her to attack the Avengers, but she freed herself from their brainwashing, was reunited with Hawkeye, revealed her true identity and offered her services to S.H.I.E.L.D., which has made use of her talents on numerous occasions. On an assignment for S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha discovered that Alexi Shostakov was still alive and had been transformed by the KGB into the costumed hero, the Red Guardian. She and the Avengers opposed the Red Guardian and his masters, and Alexi died in the battle. For awhile Natasha abandoned her identity as the Black Widow, just as the Avengers were about to make her an official member. Her romance with Hawkeye eventually ended, as did a subsequent love affair and partnership with Daredevil, although she remains friends with both men. She was a member of the Champions of Los Angeles for awhile and had a brief relationship with Hercules. The Champion disbanded due to bankruptcy and Natasha went freelance for awhile. Damon Dran, one of Natasha’s enemies from her days with Daredevil, captured Ivan in order to lure Natasha to his island where he set an army of female combat specialists against her. Dran intended to send and agent impersonating the Black Widow to infiltrate the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and assassinate Nick Fury, but Natasha defeated Dran’s agents and warned Fury. She also saved Ivan from Dran before S.H.I.E.L.D. bombed Dran’s island. The Black Widow was once more embroiled in the schemes of the Hand when she attempted to prevent them from stealing the body of their master warrior, Kirigi, from the morgue. The Hand struck Natasha down with poisons that killed her, but Stone of the Chaste restored her to life. She joined forces with Daredevil and Stone against the Hand when they attempted to revive Elektra. Natasha guessed at the time that Elektra had been successfully revived, but kept this from Matt for his own good. Russian agents then created a Life Model Decoy of Alexi Shostakov, which they used to dupe Natasha into believing her husband was still alive. With threats of terminating Alexi, they forced her into performing acts of espionage for Russia against the United States. Upon gaining the desired technology, the Russians revealed the truth and tried to kill the Widow, but with Ivan's help she defeated them and destroyed the Alexi LMD. Natasha would join forces with Iron Man to stop an agent code named "Oktober" from launching missiles to start World War III. Unknown to Iron Man and Natasha, Natasha was the agent "Oktober". Natasha succeeded in lauching the missiles and WWW III was prevented by Iron Man as he prevented the missiles from detonating. Iron Man helped Natasha capture the KGB agent responsible for Natasha's reprogramming. Natasha eventually returned to the Avengers and assumed the mantle of leadership, usually managing the team’s operations from Avengers Mansion while allowing Black Knight to lead in the field. Her tenure as the Avengers’ leader came to a sorrowful end when most of the team was apparently slain battling Onslaught. Unable to rebuild the Avengers roster herself and threatened with legal action from the Maria Stark Foundation, the Black Widow allowed the Avengers to dissolve. Natasha carried the guilt of destroying the Avengers around with her. That guilt led Natasha to embark upon a personal mission to bring down all of the Avengers’ former enemies, including the Grey Gargoyle and the Masters of Evil. She once again crossed paths with Daredevil, who was concerned with her mental state as he witnessed her obsessive hunting of the Grey Gargoyle. Natasha’s presence in Daredevil’s life again complicated his relationship with Karen Page, which at the time was still being rebuilt. Although Natasha was willing to rekindle their relationship, she acknowledged that Karen was the woman Matt loved and nobly allowed them their space. Later on, she even offered to assist Karen after she had been framed for murder by Mr. Fear. The Avengers eventually returned and Natasha assisted them on occassion, but was not a full time active member. Natasha accepted more missions from S.H.I.E.L.D. and helped them bring down the Ebon Flame's organization, Freedom's Light, by impersonating Ebon Flame. Natasha and Daredevil crossed paths once again when Matt left Baby Karen in Natasha's care and then attempted to slay the child thinking that it was the AntiChrist. Natasha managed to save the child, but was badly beaten by Daredevil in the ensuing fight. Karen was killed by Bullseye and Matt went to Natasha to be consoled and to explain his actions to her. Natasha and Matt reconcilded and Natasha admitted to Matt that she still loved him. But she noted that they had grown too far apart to ever work as a couple. The two parted as friends. After working through a crisis of faith, Natasha accepted an assignment that brought her into conflict with Yelena Belova, another Russian operative claiming the mantle of Black Widow. The two clashed over trying to retrieve the Endless Fury serum, but Natasha successfully completed her mission in the end much to the chagrin of Yelena. Shortly after, Natasha discovered that General Stalyenko was up to something in the Hudson River Valley and the Rhapastani Government. In order to investigate the matter she had Yelena Belova captured and their faces surgically swapped. This allowed her to meet with Stalyenko, but he wasn’t so easily fooled. However, Natasha was still able to foil his plan of retrieving some nukes left in the Valley during the Cold War that he was to sell to Rhapastan. The United States government attempted to have her handed over to the government of Bulgaria in exchange for having the Madame Hydra (Viper) released to the United States. Natasha once again crossed paths with Matt and the two of them worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. to bring down the people behind the effort to have her turned over to the Bulgarian government. Natasha came face to face with Alexi, her husband thought to be dead. Alexi had orchestrated the whole affair in an attempt to swipe at Natasha. Natasha confronted Alexi along with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and the Avengers at her back. Alexi was taken into custody. Natasha retired from espionage to a place in Arizona where she enjoyed the quiet life until operatives from the Red Room started hunting down the Black Widow operatives living around the world. With the help of Phil Dexter, once a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Natasha set out to find out who killed these women. Along the way she rescued Sally Anne Carter and hid her with Phil Dexter. Her search for the killer lead her to Russia where she met Lyudmila Antonovna Kudrin, former head of biotech at the Red Room. Natasha learned that the Black Widows, twenty seven women, were trained from girlhood to be the perfect killing machines: chemically enhanced for performance, psychochemically conditioned, and implanted with false memories to be loyal. Natasha took Lyudmila to S.H.I.E.L.D. where she learned Phil Dexter was gunned in his home and Sally Anne was abducted. She also learned that one of the control mechanisms in the Black Widow project was a pheromonal lock and key, a biochemical scent that could be applied like perfume. Black Widow operatives would be incapable of committing violence or even extensive disobedience against anyone wearing the scent. Natasha learned that Nick Fury had stolen the formula for the scent and had been using it against Natasha ever since. She learned that it may have played a part in her defection. Natasha followed the trail to Ian McMasters, CEO of Gynacon, and Vassily Ilyich Ulyanov of the Red Room to McMaster’s yacht in Miami. Natasha killed them both and subsequently was put atop the United States’ Most Wanted List by Presidential decree. Natasha fled to Cuba where she met up with Yelena Belova, who ran a lingerie company and a couple of soft porn channels. Yelena offered Natasha a place to stay in return asking for Natasha’s help in getting medical supplies from Miami. Natasha went and learned that the supplies are from Gynacon and learned that Sally Anne had been taken by organized crime. Matt Murdock and Nick Fury caught up to Natasha in Miami, along with Kestrel and Martin Ferris, two people she ran across in her hunt for the killers of the Black Widows. Natasha fount Sally Anne Carter who was being used for experimentation by Gynacon. Natasha was captured, but Sally Anne escaped. Kestrel and Ferris subjected Natasha to mind altering drugs hoping to break her, but Matt and Yelena rescued her from captivity. Natasha went after and killed Kestrel and Ferris. Her most recent S.H.I.E.L.D. assignment had been to trace the whereabouts of the Tinkerer during a plot to investigate the financing of super-villains in America by foreign nations, possible Latveria. Matt’s identity as Daredevil was leaked to the press and Matt struggled to deny his secret. A year later the Kingpin claimed to have proof that Matt was Daredevil and would hand it over to the federal government. Matt teamed up with Elektra and eventually Natasha to find these Murdock Papers before Fisk handed them over to the federal government. Matt, Elektra and Natasha had a brutal fight to the death in the streets with Bullseye. There were no Murdock Papers and it was a ploy by Fisk to bring Matt out into the public and have him shot down by the Feds. Natasha collected Milla, Matt’s estranged wife, and brought him to the clinic where the Night Nurse was tending his wounds. The federal government showed up to arrest Murdock along with Luke Cage, Iron First and Foggy Nelson. Natasha prevented the arrests of Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Foggy Nelson, but could not stop them from arresting Matt. Natasha remains one of the world's most accomplished hand-to-hand combatants, and is quite possibly the most skilled espionage agent alive, still in high demand with S.H.I.E.L.D. The alterations done to her body by the Red Room gave her: the ability to heal wounds four to five times faster than a normal human, slowed aging, resistance to illness, ability to survive in harsh conditions and took away the ability to have children without taking immunosuppressants. Characteristics Height: 5'7" Weight: 125 lbs Eyes: Green Hair: Red-auburn (formerly dyed black) Unusual Features: None Powers Known Powers: Natasha ages at a decelerated rate. Known Abilities: The Black Widow is skilled in the martial arts, espionage, and sharpshooting. She is also an Olympic class athlete and a profound ballet dancer. Strength Level: Normal human female with intensive regular exercise. Miscellaneous Equipment: Microscopic suction cups on her costume allow her to scale walls and cling to ceilings, just as her namesake. Transportation: Natasha uses her Widow's Line, a grappling hook with a retractable line, to swing along rooftops for increased mobility. Weapons: The Black Widow's wrist cartridges contain various tools of the spy trade: tear-gas pellets, a radio transmitter and spring-loaded cable, as well as a small device capable of emitting a high-frequency electrostatic charge. Notes * Trivia * List of Appearances: *Tales of Suspense #52 - First Appearance; *Tales of Suspense #64 - First Costume and Widow's Bite Complete List Related Articles * Hawkeye (Clint Barton) * Daredevil (Matt Murdock) See Also * Character Gallery: Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) External Links * References * ---- Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Secret Identity Category:Russian Category:Auburn Hair Category:Green Eyes Category:Widowed Characters Category:Silver Age Category:Avengers members Category:Champions of Los Angeles members Category:SHIELD members